WINNIPEG, April 18, 2012 /CNW/ - IMRIS Inc. (NASDAQ: IMRS; TSX: IM)
("IMRIS" or the "Company") today reported on the presentation of
preliminary results of the first randomized trial that studied the
resection of low-grade insular glioma using high-field intraoperative
MR imaging. The study, performed in a VISIUS Surgical Theatre, showed
significantly greater extent of tumor resection, better rates of total
resection and better long-term morbidity for the group undergoing
surgery with intraoperative MR imaging (iMRI), compared to the control
group without iMRI.

Dr. Xiaolei Chen, Associated Professor, Neurosurgery at the Chinese PLA
General Hospital in Beijing, presented his findings during the plenary
session at the annual meeting of the American Association of
Neurological Surgeons currently underway in Miami Beach, FL. Dr.
Mitchel Berger, Chairman, Department of Neurological Surgery at UCSF
and President Elect of AANS, acted as the official discussant during
the session. Following the presentation, Dr. Berger commented: "This
study reinforces that iMRI is an excellent tool to help us achieve a
complete tumor resection. Extent of tumor resection has been linked to
improved patient survival, thus, iMRI will be helpful in allowing us to
achieve that goal".

Chinese PLA General Hospital in Beijing was the first hospital in China
to install a VISIUS Surgical Theatre featuring a ceiling mounted, 1.5T
intraoperative MR in February 2009 and has already treated over 800
patients. In the trial, which Dr. Chen began in April 2009, 81
patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the iMRI group or
the control group. The patients in the iMRI group underwent
microsurgery for the resection of the tumor using iMRI; the control
group underwent conventional microsurgery. Patients in both groups
were not statistically different in age and preoperative tumor size.

A closer look at the results shows that the extent of resection achieved
with the iMRI group was 98.6%, which is a statistically significant
higher result than in the control group at only 89.9%. This data is
noteworthy since, according to the team at UCSF published in Clinical
Oncology (Smith, Berger et al, 2008), "improved outcome among adult
patients with hemispheric LGG [low-grade glioma] is predicted by
greater EOR [extent of resection]".

When comparing post-surgery residual tumor, gross total resection was
achieved in 85% of the patients in the iMRI group - significantly
higher than the result in the control group, which was only 56.1%. In
addition, long-term language morbidity and motor morbidity results were
significantly better in patients in the iMRI group compared to the
control group.

About IMRIS

IMRIS (NASDAQ: IMRS; TSX: IM) is a global leader in providing image
guided therapy solutions through its VISIUS Surgical Theatre - a
revolutionary, multifunctional surgical environment that provides
unmatched intraoperative vision to clinicians to assist in decision
making and enhance precision in treatment. VISIUS Surgical Theatres
serve the neurosurgical, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular markets and
have been selected by leading medical institutions around the world.